Intense, absorbing, and demanding are the mental and physical precursors to understanding the context of how works in this exhibition were created. Absorbing Experiences is the outcome of an intensive drawing workshop for students enrolled in the Clemson University Department of Art and Architecture programs under the direction of guest artist, Clive King. All art was created in the Lee Gallery and was exhibited in the fall of 2014.

While the show at the CVA – Lee Gallery focused on the efforts of all the workshop’s participants, the exhibition at the CVA-G reflects a different approach. Joel Murray, a recent MFA graduate, co-curated the show along with Kara Blanken Soper to reflect contrasting themes, textures, and tonal values between art students’ work.

PREVIOUS EXHIBITS

The Clemson University Center for Visual Arts – Greenville (CVA-G) is hosting the new exhibit, “Works of Paper,” Nov. 7 -Dec. 20 with a reception on Friday, Nov. 7, 6-9 p.m. that coincides with the widely popular First Fridays in the Village of West Greenville as well as the 13th Annual Open Studios operated by the Metropolitan Arts Council (MAC).

The exhibition title which is a play on words, from the time-honored term “works on paper,” features two and three-dimensional artwork. The curated show bring three artist together with roots in S.C. and the Upstate focuses on the reflexive identity of paper in the art-making process, and pays homage to drawing and printmaking of various scales. Miranda Pfeiffer, who is originally from N.C. and Upstate S.C. and now resides in Los Angeles, C.A. is returning “home” to show her large-scale drawings, many of which examine the multiple forms that paper can assume. Mary Robinson, a printmaker and professor at the University of South Carolina, is displaying both drawings and prints that examine organic form and the multiple interactions that materials can have with paper. Elizabeth Shanks, a local artist based at ArtBomb on Pendleton Street, is showing her three-dimensional paper cut-outs. Shank’s work lends a sculptural element to a material otherwise associated with two-dimensional media. Her work is integrated within the space to lend an element of formal diversity.

Throughout the duration of the exhibition, the artists will be hosting workshops both at the CVA-G and at the spaces of community partners in order to share their process with Clemson students, faculty, alumni, local artists, children within the community, and the general public. The dates and times of these workshops are to be announced at a later date.

The Center for Visual Arts-Greenville (CVA-G) is open Tuesday-Friday, 10:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., First Fridays from 10:30 a.m. – 9 p.m., and most Saturdays from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. It is located at 1278 Pendleton Street, Clemson, SC 29611 in the Village of West Greenville, on the corner of Lois Ave and Pendleton St. in the bottom floor of the Village Studios building. For questions about this exhibit or any future Center for Visual Arts-Greenville exhibits, contact Program Coordinator, Kara Blanken at kblank2@@clemson.edu.

ABOUT THE CVA-G

The Clemson University Center for Visual Arts – Greenville (CVA-G) , located at 1278 Pendleton Street, Greenville, S.C. in the heart of Village of West Greenville, is an arts exhibition space that seeks to create a dynamic, hands-on environment focused on multi-disciplinary collaborations that foster a sense of place in the community. It exists as a satellite location of the Center for Visual Arts (CVA) on the Clemson campus. The CVA-G works with its partners and the community to “engage and render visible the creative process,” and to develop, curate, install, exhibit, document, and interpret the best contemporary art happening today.

DIAGRAMS INFLUX EXHIBIT

Eli Blasko’s Diagrams In Flux explores themes of temporality and fragility. The exhibit seeks to delineate the perplexing sense that there is little one can know about the future and playfully define the manner in which time distorts certainties of the past. Blasko describes his work as "three-dimensional blueprints." Plans are underway for Blasko to collaborate with departments within College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities as well as speak to undergraduate art students about professional development paths.

Eli Blasko’s Work in the Upstate

For the past two years, Blasko has been an Art-In-Residence at Hub-Bub located in Spartanburg, SC. During his time in the Upstate, he has helped to execute several large-scale collaborative projects, participated in national conferences, while simultaneously maintaining a national and international exhibition record of his own.

About Eli Blasko

Eli Blasko’s practice spans a wide range of media, from traditional sculpture and printmaking to video, performance, and interactive works. Thematically, his work embraces notions of uncertainty regarding the possibility of accurately representing ever-evolving systems such as culture, history, or the self. Exploring contrasting roles of the arts and sciences within modern society is also a frequently visited topic in Blasko’s work. He holds a BFA from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania and has also studied Intermedia at the Academy of Art and Design in Bratislava, Slovakia as well as Traditional Blacksmithing at Touchstone Center for Crafts in Farmington, Pennsylvania. Blasko has current work on display at the internationally recognized Pittsburgh Art Biennial until the end of October. Learn more about Eli Blasko.

Gallery Talk and Artist Reception this Friday coincide with the popular First Friday event in the Village of West Greenville. For questions about this exhibit or any future Center for Visual Arts-Greenville exhibits, contact Program Coordinator, Kara Blanken at kblank2@clemson.edu.

August 1, F

SENSE OF PLACE: Picturing Life in West Greenville

6-9 p.m.

CVA-Greenville, 1278 Pendleton St., Greenville SC 29611

Center for Visual Arts-Greenville will welcome visitors to come view the current exhibit Sense of Place: Picturing Life in West Greenville and will celebrate the book release of this current exhibit during the popular Village of West Greenville’s First Friday event. The exhibit and accompanying book features images of people and places in West Greenville. The project acknowledges the history of the area and identifies the individuals living in the community as well as serves as a current visual record of the neighborhood. Copies of the book will be free to the public. The Sense of Place exhibition is currently on display until Saturday, August 30.

This publication was made possible by the SC Arts Commission.

Sense of Place Exhibit

Clemson University’s Art Department was recently awarded a $5,000 grant by the South Carolina Arts Commission allowing the Center for Visual Arts at Clemson University to bring the internationally and nationally recognized editor, founder and curator of Fraction Magazine, David Bram to curate the ‘Sense of Place’ exhibition that will be on display, June 13 – August 30 in its satellite facility, the Center for Visual Arts-Greenville. Opening reception is scheduled for Friday, July 13 at 6 p.m. and the Artist and Curator Panel Discussion is Tuesday, July 15 at 7 p.m. Bram invited four photographers to visit the Village of West Greenville to observe, learn and interpret what they discover through an artistic trained eye using the lens of a camera accompanied by audio recorded stories given by the neighbors in the community. This neighborhood was recently rebranded to honor its mill village history.

“It is my sincerest hope that the results of this project will be a collection of works where the creative community as well as the larger neighborhood will share and connect with each other” expresses current program coordinator for the CVA-Greenville, Gene Ellenberg. “The exhibit is designed to spark conversations and genuine interactions to empower the neighbors in the community by giving them a platform to tell their stories as well as acknowledge their history.”

All professional art photographers invited to participate in this exhibit are located in the southeast and have relevant experience creating a collection of works using environmental portraiture or storytelling. This type of experience will help convey and bring together a significant exhibit meant to honor its residents and surrounding community. The artists selected to participate in the implementation of this exhibit are Dawn Roe residing in Asheville, NC and Winter Park, FL; Dustin Chambers residing in Atlanta, GA; Kathleen Robbins residing in Columbia, SC; and Leon Alesi residing in Asheville, NC and Austin, TX.

The Sense of Place exhibit will be featured as special content in the July issue of Fraction Magazine gaining the Village of West Greenville and the CVA-Greenville exposure to an international audience. Fraction Magazine is a monthly publication with an online venue dedicated to fine art, contemporary photography that has published over 250 photographer’s portfolios. Fraction editor, Bram, was recently named as one of the 101 Photo Industry Professionals You Should Follow on Twitter according to the website Feature Shoot.

Several organizations and individuals are helping the Center for Visual Arts—Greenville to fulfill its requirement of matching the Arts Commission grant with local dollars and in-kind donations. Those who are supporting the grant project are Peter Helwing, Richard and Gwen Heusel, the Friends of the Center for Visual Arts and Clemson University as well as significant financial support and vision given to the CVA-Greenville by The Community Foundation of Greenville. Local residents can see how the Arts Commission grant and local funds are benefiting the Center for Visual Arts—Greenville by visiting the location in The Village of West Greenville at 1278 Pendleton St, Greenville, SC 29611 and by visiting clemson.edu/cva/cva-greenville.

The Sense of Place exhibition can be viewed from Friday, June 13 until Saturday, Aug. 30 in the Center for Visual Arts-Greenville satellite facility located in the Village of West Greenville. Gallery hours are Tuesday – Saturday 10:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. Opening reception is scheduled for Friday, July 13 at 6 p.m. and the Artist and Curator Panel Discussion is Tuesday, July 15 at 7 p.m. The exhibit, panel, and reception is free and open to the public.

END

About the Curator

David Bram has reviewed more than 800 portfolios from over 20 national events including the prominent: PhotoLucida based in Portland, OR; Fotofest based in Houston, TX; PhotoNOLA based in New Orleans, LA; Atlanta Celebrates Photography based in Atlanta, GA; Review LA based in Los Angeles, CA; and Review Santa Fe based in Santa Fe, NM. He was a juror for Review Santa Fe in 2010, Santa Fe, NM and also served as a juror for the past four years to select the top 50 emerging art photographers for PhotoLucida’s Critical Mass. In addition, he served as reviewer for the internationally recognized Fotofest Moscow in August 2011 and a curator at the Lishui Photography Festival in China in November 2011. In September 2010, Bram was the recipient of Photography’s Rising Star Award given by Griffin Museum Winchester, MA.

About The Center for Visual Arts

The Center for Visual Arts (CVA) at Clemson University is where students, visitors and scholars explore contemporary perspectives in art and culture through research, outreach programming and studio practice. With a mission to engage and render visible the creative process, the CVA is a dynamic intellectual and physical environment where art is created, exhibited and interpreted. It educates through academic research and practice with art at its core, drawing upon varied disciplines to examine critically cultural issues and artistic concerns.

The Center for Visual Arts-Greenville is a satellite of the Center for Visual Arts at Clemson University, which serves as the umbrella for all visual art activities at the university.Though there is not a physical building for this center, the majority of the activities for the Center of Visual Arts are generated out of Lee Hall on the Clemson University campus. For more information, visit clemson.edu/cva.

About South Carolina Arts Commission

The South Carolina Arts Commission is the state agency charged with creating a thriving arts environment that benefits all South Carolinians, regardless of their location or circumstances. Created by the South Carolina General Assembly in 1967, the Arts Commission works to increase public participation in the arts by providing services, grants and leadership initiatives in three areas: arts education, community arts development and artist development. Headquartered in Columbia, SC, the Arts Commission is funded by the state of South Carolina, by the federal government through the National Endowment for the Arts and other sources. For more information, visit SouthCarolinaArts.com.

Exhibit runs now until May 31

DEPARTMENT OF ART FACULTY BIENNIAL EXHIBITION

Reception coincides with the First Friday in the Village of West Greenville on May 2, 6 - 9 p.m.

Center for Visual Arts - Greenville

The exhibit showcases recent creative research by faculty examining the human condition through a range of media, including ceramics, drawing, digital media, painting, printmaking, photography and sculpture. Greg Shelnutt, art department chairman, describes their roles as “artist-educators” as “developing new ways of seeing, new ways of understanding and, ultimately, new ways of being.”

Clemson University Center for Visual Arts-Greenville is pleased to present Red Balloons, an exhibition of multi-media works by Molly C. Morin and Stephen Wolochowicz. Morin uses digital methods, including computer coding, 3D modeling, and digital photo-editing to produce work that explores the difficult relationship between information and meaning. Morin’s projects visualize data sets generated from a wide range of sources, from poetry to text messages, and reflect on the impact of communication technology on daily life. Wolochowicz’s current work utilizes abstract industrial shapes with organic features. Through the use of vivid color and texture, he adds a playful aesthetic to his underlying concepts. They deal with the human invention, environment and progress through networks of industrial themes.This exhibit will also feature interactive collaborative works by Morin and Wolochowicz that are programmed to visually respond to human activity in a way that encourages users to engage their bodies and voices.

Molly Morin is an Assistant Professor at Weber State University in Ogden, UT. She received her MFA from Clemson University and her BFA from The University of Notre Dame. Her digital prints, animations, and sculptures have been exhibited in solo and small group shows at Art Centers, University Galleries and Regional Museums across the US. She has worked with the Notre Dame Digital Visualization Theater and the Center for Research Computing to produce code-based work, and is currently collaborating with contemporary poets for the digital project &/ (on twitter: @AndOrProject) www.mollymorin.com

Stephen Wolochowicz is currently an Assistant Professor of Art in Ceramics at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. He has also taught ceramics at The University of Notre Dame. The University of Central Missouri, and Central Michigan University. He holds a BFA from the University of Delaware and a MFA from Miami University in Ohio. Wolochowicz has exhibited his work extensively and has conducted numerous workshops and lectures around the country www.stephenwolochowicz.com

Special thanks to Richard and Gwen Heusel and the Greenville Community Foundation for their support of the CVA - Greenville.

December 6, 2013 – January 25, 2014

Thur-Sat 1 p.m.-6 p.m., First Fridays 1 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Opening Reception

Friday, December 6, 2013, 6:30 – 9 p.m.

Starting December 6 and ending January 25 at Clemson’s Center for the Visual Arts – Greenville, artists in the University’s MFA program in collaboration with honors students in an undergraduate English Accelerated Composition course will exhibit works that broadly interpret and examine the multi-faceted concept of “process.” Adam Glick, Associate Director of Galerie Lelong in Manhattan, juried the exhibit. Featured artists include Ayako Abe-Miller, David Armistead, Laken Bridges, Tanna Burchinal, Lindsey Elsey, David Gerhard, Alexandra Giannelle, Ali Hammond, Nina Kawar, Adrienne Lichliter, Joel Murray, Alyssa Reiser Prince, Brent Pafford, Aubree Ross and Hilary Siber. An audio component will accompany many of the works on exhibit which features each artist talking about how their processes and concepts.

The exhibit simultaneously examines the artists’ conception of their own process and the way in which art contributes to a broader sense of how we all go about shaping and responding to the world around us. Works in the exhibit interpret the artistic process in terms of materials and the passage of time as well as in relation to mechanical, biological, and environmental processes.

Capitalizing on the Art Department’s theme for the year, ‘Sourcing the Local’ this exhibit features works from Clemson Art Alumni who are currently artists working as educators in upstate South Carolina. Featured artists are graduates of Clemson University’s Master of Fine Arts program, each overlapping their experience by one or more exhibiting artists. Aside from the artists working as educators in upstate SC, their creative research overlaps investigations of past and present human and environmental experiences. As an exhibition, viewers may find intersections of individual and societal engagement with natural arenas and/or spiritual consequences. A goal of CVA-Greenville is to allow artists to create new visual dialogues with one another, therefore weaving the curatorial production into the artistic process. Over the duration of the exhibit the artists will further develop their concepts through an evolving installation involving publicly engaging elements that expand upon their initial dialogue.

Artists participating in the exhibition are Marty Epp-Carter (’09), Instructor at the SC Governor’s School of the Arts in Greenville, SC; Michael Marks (’10), Adjunct Professor at Anderson University in Anderson, SC and Instructor at the S.C. Governor’s School of the Arts; Elizabeth Snipes (’07), Assistant Professor at Lander University, Greenwood, SC; and Zane Logan (’12), Instructor at Greenville Technical College in Greenville, SC.

The Reception Announcing our Presence in Greenville to our Closest Clemson Family and Friends

A special thank you to CVA board of director member, Jamie Horowitz for hosting a lovely reception along with her husband, Henry at their home in Greenville on May 2, 2013 as a way to spread the word about this initiative. Please view the photos from this event above.

Be sure to click below and check out the CVA Greenville Blog to read about the artists and see them at work in the gallery.